Production scheduling for a sheet metal job shop
In which order do cabinets, brackets and enclosures run through laser, press brake, welding and powder coating — with as few colour changes as possible?
Drag to rotate, scroll or pinch to zoom. The schedule below plays the plan; hover a bar for details. Plan computed with a Timefold model.
The planning question
A contract manufacturer cuts, bends, welds and powder-coats cabinets, brackets and enclosures. The powder coating line works in colour batches, so its sequence decides most of the set-up time — but batching too long makes other orders late.
How we plan it
Timefold balances batching against due dates: grouping colours saves set-up, but only as long as no order misses its delivery date.
What the plan shows
| KPI | Optimized plan |
|---|---|
| late orders | 0 |
| tardiness (min) | 0 |
| set-up (min) | 530 |
| AGV empty travel (m) | 1,423 |
Decisions
- sequence and start time per machine
- colour batches on the coating line
- worker and transport per operation
Constraints
- operation sequence laser → bending → welding → coating
- colour change on the coating line costs set-up time
- curing time before assembly and packing
- shift times and qualifications
Objective
no late orders, few colour changes, short lead times
Questions
How are colour changes modelled?
As sequence-dependent set-up times on the coating line; the solver trades them off against due dates.
Can rush orders be added?
Yes. A new order is inserted and the open part of the plan is re-optimized, with started operations kept fixed.
More use cases
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